Brothers in the ring

Checking in on UTRGV Club Boxing

_{Michael Madrigal (right), a UTRGV Club Boxing member and criminal justice senior, throws a punch at his opponent, Christian Rodriguez Rosales from Vanderbilt University, March 21 at the United States Intercollegiate Boxing Association National Championships in Houston. PHOTO COURTESY SIXTUM PICTURES}

Members of UTRGV’s Club Boxing are looking forward and working hard to continue improving their skills in the ring after coming off of a great showing at the United States Intercollegiate Boxing Association’s National Championships March 21-23.

The club took five of its members to Houston to compete against at least 30 other colleges. Three of the members were beginners, meaning this was their first time competing in a registered fight.

The three competitors in the beginner’s bracket were biology sophomore Martin Hernandez Guzman, business sophomore Michael Madrigal and business freshman Jesus Cadena. They all finished in the quarterfinals of the beginner bracket.

Exercise science senior Alejandro Huerta competed and finished in the semifinals as well. He thought the club had a great showing at the national event.

Huerta said he is “really proud” of those who competed, especially those in the beginner bracket.

“Three of the guys have never competed in amateur boxing here in the U.S.; they’ve never done that before,” he said. “And two of them have never trained boxing before. For them to go out there and put on fights and essentially have close matches … I’m very proud of everyone that fought and competed because the training was shown in the fights.”

Club Boxing president and biology senior Omar Cortez also competed in the main event and made it to the semifinals. He would lose his semifinal fight by a split decision. Cortez has been with Club Boxing since 2022.

He said he felt like he was “in the zone” as he was competing at nationals.

“I felt like my talent was gonna show and it did,” Cortez said. “I got a lot of compliments on my style and the way I fight and my defensive move.”

Huerta also complimented the skill of their beginner fighters in the tournament.

“Some of the beginner guys … got the experience and got split decisions on more than half of them,” he said. “They showed their dedication. Their hard work paid off.”

The club was founded by Noe Mendoza Jr. in 2021. Mendoza coached the club from 2022-23. As a law student at the University of Texas at Dallas, he still advises the club from afar as the club’s United States Intercollegiate Boxing Association athlete representative.

“We’re a growing organization and we’ve done great the past two years,” Mendoza said. “This year, the training requirements and eligibility of our team, I feel, has gotten stricter because we’re more focused on the result. As much as we are a competitive team, we also invite the student body to come in and learn the sport recreationally with no commitment to competition.”

He thought the team’s time at the national event “went well.”

“When we go out there as a group, as a team, the other teams that travel from all of the corners of the United States know who we are,” Mendoza said. “The other teams respect us, and whenever we’re faced against someone, they just generally know this is gonna be a good, competitive matchup because UTRGV, at this point, is equated with competitiveness.”

A lot of preparation went into the event, as competitors begin preparing for the spring competition at the start of the fall semester. The biggest emphasis was on diet, weight and conditioning.

“We basically had a pre-fight camp before the actual fight camp,” Huerta said. “So, we started training in September, and that’s when we started focusing a lot … and that’s when we found our five.”

He said brotherhood has been an essential aspect of the team during the nearly six-month training period.

“We really wanted a brotherhood in this team,” Huerta said. “[We’d] be like, ‘OK guys, no matter the results, we’re together on this and we’re gonna push through,’ and it was. That’s something I really enjoyed. Despite our shortcomings, right after the match, we still laughed, we still hung out together. … This is a brotherhood.”

The club hopes to continue competing in local events and help those who competed in the beginner bracket gain more fighting experience to prepare for nationals next year.

Club Boxing meets Mondays and Wednesdays at Studio 2 in the University Recreation Center on the Edinburg campus. Meetings are open to all students.

_{Noe Mendoza Sr., club boxing head coach and administrator (from left); Paul Flores, a rehabilitation services junior and club boxing coach; and Alejandro Huerta, an exercise science senior and boxing club vice president, cheer on the UTRGV Club Boxing March 22 at the United States Intercollegiate Boxing Association National Championships in Houston. PHOTO COURTESY SIXTUM PICTURES}